Luis Alfredo Garavito, a notorious Colombian serial killer who confessed to the murders of over 190 children during the 1990s, passed away on Thursday at the age of 66, according to prison authorities. Known as “The Beast,” Garavito lured children aged 8 to 16 primarily from low-income backgrounds by impersonating various personas such as a monk or street vendor. He then abused and murdered them.
Garavito’s death occurred in a hospital in Valledupar, northern Colombia, where he had been imprisoned. The cause of his death remains undisclosed. Born in 1957 in the Colombian department of Quindío, Garavito traveled through 11 departments, leaving a trail of heinous crimes. Law enforcement began tracking him due to notable similarities in child disappearance cases across Pereira, Armenia, and Tunja.
In 1999, Garavito was apprehended for an attempted rape. However, when questioned about the killings of 114 children, he admitted his involvement and later confessed to additional murders, totaling over 190 victims. During a court hearing the same year, Garavito sought forgiveness from the victims’ families, admitting to all the killings.
In recent times, there was speculation about Garavito’s potential release after completing a significant portion of his sentence. However, in 2021, then-president Iván Duque firmly rejected the possibility, ensuring Garavito would remain incarcerated throughout his tenure.
